Kira Yamato: Seed of the Rebellion
by FriedIce
Summary: Kira had thought war had ended that day in Jachin Due. However, when he stumbles onto the ethnic cleansing of Shinjuku Ghetto, he finds himself unfortunately proved wrong.
1. A Change of Destiny

**Chapter One – A Change of Destiny**

Life in the Ghettos surrounding the Tokyo Settlement wasn't easy. Shinjuku, in particular was bad. Anything of value had long since been stolen or sold and the Japanese – or rather, the Elevens – were living in a poverty that seemed oddly juxtaposed when compared to the gaudy affluence of the settlement.

Drug use among the Japanese – particularly that of Refrain – was rampant. Escapism seemed to be the main motivation behind taking this drug. One shot, they said, and you were back to the good old days. What was ignored, or overlooked, was that from the side effects to the addiction, Refrain was a dangerous habit. A dangerous, expensive habit.

Then there were the terrorist – or freedom fighting; it depended on which side you were on – movements. It was a known fact that these groups often used the Ghettos as their bases of operations, and even more well known that many of the locals either pretended they weren't there or condoned their presence.

Lacus Clyne knew all of that. In fact, she would hazard a guess that she _understood _it far better than the PLANTs politicians who tended to throw these facts around as ammo. And it was that same _understanding _that had forced her into Jap- _Area Eleven. _

There were other reasons behind her presence in the Area, but out of all of the possible destinations, she'd picked Area 11 _because _of this.

After the war, Lacus had found herself unable to be idle. She'd started off helping out at Reverend Malchio's orphanage, but had soon found herself fidgety.

Area Eleven was somewhere that 'civil unrest' didn't do full justice to. Things in Area Eleven were so precariously balanced that it was near impossible to predict the nation's future. In some places it was almost as dangerous as it had been when it was a warzone, even seven years after its conquest.

The adults, however, who were fighting so desperately for a freedom from Britannia that was extremely unrealistic, had forgotten the people who war often hurt most: the children.

Kira himself had been a victim of this predicament; he was dragged into _their _war when he was only sixteen. He'd insist that he'd gone into it willingly, but Lacus knew that, deep down, he hadn't gone into it eyes open.

"Lacus, are you sure this is wise?" Kira asked, speaking up for the first time, since her arrival in Shinjuku. "I know we picked a random location on the map, but Shinjuku is a known location for terrorists."

Lacus shot Kira a _look, _one which just dared him to say something further. Kira, unlike the politicians who had been on the end of this look, didn't shrink under it. He merely sighed.

Lacus went back to her task, preparing a stew. It had become something of a ritual for Lacus since her arrival in Area Eleven. Every other day, Lacus would buy as much food as she could carry, pick a random location on the map of the Ghettos they had pinned up in their apartment, arrive there and cook a meal for whoever needed it.

It wasn't much, Lacus knew that, but it was something and something was better than nothing.

"_Children_," Lacus chimed, her Japanese badly accented, but rather grammatically sound. "_Food's ready!"_

A small crowd had gathered in front of her, and though primarily of children, there were a few older people dotted around. They were all dressed in various stages of disarray, with faded clothes and a certain rarity of shoes spread among them.

Lacus handed a bowl of warm stew into each of their hands, accompanying it with a charming smile.

Kira watched Lacus as she worked, analysing each member of the crowd for threat-potential without even realising it. The war had left Kira with many habits he didn't even realise he had, but he was slowly working to quell them. For example, he'd finally gotten out of the habit of strapping a gun to his waist and ankle every morning, even though his paranoia screamed at him every time he got dressed.

No one had been unchanged after the war. Lacus was affected, but she hid it well. One thing hadn't changed though; Lacus still had her infectious kindness.

"_There you go," _Lacus said, patting the last of the crowd on the head as she handed him a bowl. "_Now, eat up—"_

Lacus was cut off by the sound of a crash nearby. Her eyes widened and her head whipped around towards the place it had come from.

At the sound, Kira had flinched, his hand already reaching to his belt, to find it empty of a weapon. His eyes then flickered to Lacus, ready to dive over her in a second's notice if need be.

"Kira…" Lacus began, her hand reaching into her bag. She withdrew an item from it, and threw it at Kira. Kira's hand snapped around it with ease and he nodded in understanding. It was a gun.

"I'm on it," he said easily, his fingers already falling into their comfortable positions on the gun.

With a final nod to Lacus, Kira turned around and sprinted in the direction of the noise.

* * *

Lelouch looked from the green haired girl to his friend. Suzaku was staring at the girl, his eyes wide and disbelieving.

"That's not poison gas," Lelouch deadpanned.

Suzaku shook his head as if unable to comprehend it.

"But in the briefing-" he stammered.

"People lie, Suzaku," Lelouch said bitterly, "you can appreciate that, can't you?"

Suzaku flinched slightly, a brief expression flashing across his face so quickly Lelouch almost missed it. As Lelouch opened his mouth to comment, he heard footsteps.

Seconds later, they were joined by the arrival of a squad of guards.

* * *

"Sir, he's just a civilian!"

Kira flinched at that. He hated war, no doubt about that, but what he hated more was when civilians were pulled into the games of conspiring forces. His fingers tightened in his grip around the gun.

Lacus had saved him, Kira knew that. She'd been the unstoppable force that had pulled him from the abyss, taught him that he had to fight _for, _not _against. _She'd given him a tool to make a difference. She'd given him a way out.

The end of the war had been hard. Things like that… It was hard to have them just end. He was so used to it all, to being a soldier. It was hard to let go, despite how much he wanted to.

Kira sighed.

He knew what he had to do.

Kira closed his eyes and pictured a seed…

* * *

"Well, if that's the case…" Lelouch's eyes widened as the commanding officer moved the gun so it was pointing at Suzaku's turned back. "It is a shame, Private Kururugi."

The gunshot rang throughout the cavern.

The gun clattered to the floor.

Suzaku's eyes widened slightly and he spun around, staring at the commanding officer. His hand – his gun hand – was a bloody mess, and his other hand was clutching his wrist as he stared at it in obvious pain. It was as if he couldn't quite comprehend what had happened; his arms were shaking and his eyes were wide.

He had been shot through the hand.

Lelouch quickly reached this conclusion, and immediately began search the small inlet for the person who had made the shot.

As the soldiers – who had, until this point, been standing stock still – finally remembered that they were in fact trained military personnel and armed, began to scramble for their own weapons, another shot rang out in the chamber.

The commanding officer's entire torso twisted around as he was hit in the shoulder by a bullet. He dropped to the ground, having passed out from the pain.

Lelouch let his eyes widen. What the hell was happening?

* * *

"One down," Kira commented grimly.

His shrunken pupils stared down the barrel of his gun as he lined up another shot. Judging by the scene, the black-haired kid was a student – his uniform spoke volumes of that – who had strayed a bit too far away from the settlement and gotten caught up in this mess.

He supposed he had a bit of a hero-complex, one which he was often reluctant to embrace. But, just standing by, with his gun unused in his hand, watching a soldier murder the very person they were supposed to protect… That clashed with Kira's beliefs.

A third shot went off, snapping Kira out of his momentary daze.

_Shit, _he thought, already berating himself for the slight loss in concentration. _They've just shot the girl._

Kira had seconds if he was lucky before the situation went south. He sighed.

"Damnit," Kira growled, before lining up his next shot.

_Right now,_ he thought bleakly, _I can't afford mercy._

* * *

Shot after shot was fired and Lelouch was at a loss as to pinpointing the location of the shooter. Suzaku had frozen up beside him, watching the events unfold with a dumb awe. It was undeniable: whoever was shooting must have had raw talent, experience and highly professional equipment.

The soldiers being targeted didn't even have time to react as one by one they were felled by carefully placed, non-lethal shots.

When the last soldier finally fell to the ground, panic evident on his face, Lelouch turned to Suzaku, hoping it was one of the rare occasions when the Japanese boy had more of an idea as to what was going on than Lelouch. Suzaku was, unfortunately, just as bewildered as Lelouch.

"Lelouch," he began apprehensively. "What's going on?"

Lelouch merely shook his head, shrugging his shoulders slightly, unable to quite place the words in his mouth.

"Hey, are you guys alright?"

The voice came from the right of them. The two friends whirled around, their eyes zeroing in on the owner. The owner was a teenager, their age, with brown hair that spiked down to just below his ears. Purple eyes were set in his well-balanced face and he was rather handsome. In total, his entire appearance left him looking Britannian, despite the concerned look in his eyes.

"Yeah…" Suzaku began to say, but drifted off, coming to the realisation that Lelouch had just seconds before. This was the shooter.

"What about the girl?" the shooter asked. "I didn't see where the short hit..?" he trailed off, his eyes finally falling on the green-haired girl.

"It hit her in the head," Lelouch stated bitterly. His eyes didn't leave the shooter even as he walked up to the green-haired girl's body. He didn't trust this person. He didn't trust anyone.

"In the head, you say?" the shooter asked bleakly.

* * *

It was an old habit, one which Kira had picked up in the war. When you found a 'dead' body, you had to take their pulse before they could be pronounced dead. In the end, it just gave you peace of mind, that you weren't abandoning someone who could – even if it was only the slightest possibility – live.

Mu had first introduced Kira to it … which meant that it wasn't something Kira could easily stop.

So, even though the green haired girl had been shot in the head, Kira, out of nothing more than habit, picked up her wrist and felt for a pulse.

* * *

The shooter dropped the girl's hand as if it had burnt him.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed. "She's alive!"

Lelouch's face contorted into an expression of pure disbelief. He shook his head slowly.

"Impossible…" Lelouch muttered. "Suzaku…"

"I've seen some crazy shit in my time," the shooter stated, hoisting the dead – _unconscious – _girl onto his shoulder. "But this takes the biscuit."

"What are you doing?" Suzaku asked, gesturing to the girl that was now slung over the shooter's shoulder.

The shooter looked at him as if he were stupid.

"We need to move," he said. "It's only a matter of time before our position is found."

Lelouch and Suzaku hesitated. They stared at the shooter, then their eyes flickered to each other.

RING!

Both Lelouch and Suzaku jerked at the sound. The shooter, however, calmly reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a phone. He threw an apologetic glance at the two others before answering it.

"Yes, dear?" he said.

Little did Lelouch know at the time, but it was that hesitation that would change his life.

Because he didn't immediately run, Lelouch saw the soldier farthest away from them stir. He watched the soldier pull himself off the ground and level a gun at him in his good hand. He saw the down the barrel, saw the gun pointing at him. Images flashed before his eyes.

_His mother … dead … bullets … blood … too late… His heartless father… Nunally … her smile… _

_No! I can't die like this! I refuse to die helpless and weak!_

Just as the soldier grinned and pulled the trigger, a hand caught Lelouch's ankle.

The images this time were different.

* * *

Kira would later curse himself for not having kept SEED mode active. With SEED mode on, he would've no doubt spotted the soldier staggering to his feet and ended it all there. None of the mess – the Lancelot – the Geass – it would have never happened.

But Kira didn't have SEED mode active. He'd let it fade from his eyes as he approached the two teenagers he had saved, knowing it made him look strange. So, Kira didn't notice the soldier until it was too late.

The only thing he could do was throw the green-haired girl off his shoulders and throw himself in front of that bullet and save that poor kid's life.

When the bullet hit him, darkness came pretty soon after. But the last thing he remembered, before everything went black, was an anger filled voice declaring…

"**_Lelouch vi Britannia orders you all, now, never kill again!_**"

* * *

_A/N: This is just a random idea I had a while ago. I was kinda like 'hey, what would happen if CG met GS?' … well, it goes something like this…_

_Got any questions? Leave a review and I'll either answer it in the next chapter or PM you._

_Next chapter we meet Lloyd, the Lancelot and some other well-loved characters. I'll try to tie up Shinjuku in the next chapter, but that's all I can really try…_

* * *

_Well this isn't an update. What it is is the precursor to an update._

_So yeah we're rewriting this story 'cause honestly some of the early elements made us cringe._

_Included is: -Better prose._

_-More realism_

_-More Lloyd_

_Hopefully you'll all enjoy the rewrite as much as the origional. Or if your new, hopefully you'll enjoy the rewrite._

_FriedIce over and out._

_PS. This is a joint acount with my beta_

_PPS. Review._


	2. Identity Theft

**Chapter Two – Identity Theft**

"Lelouch," Suzaku began, "what was that?"

"I _really _don't know."

Lelouch could feel the power fading from his left eye now, and was left with a chronic unease. It was disturbing, really, how all of those soldiers had chanted their reply: "_Yes, your highness._" And how their eyes had all had an unsettling red rim around their irises as they said it…

"That," came a voice from below, "was Geass." Suzaku and Lelouch both turned.

"You-" Suzaku gaped. "But you were dead – how..?"

The green-haired girl was sat up now and blinking her golden eyes at the pair of them. She rubbed her forehead where the bullet wound had connected as if nursing a bruise.

"'Were' being the operative word," she stated, standing up. "And unless you want 'dead' to become your _permanent_ state of affairs, I'd move."

Lelouch nodded, his mind already calculating a way he could get out of here alive. He didn't know much about the layout of the Ghettos, but Suzaku probably knew something… He glanced sideways at his childhood friend, who appeared to be torn.

"We can't just leave him…" Suzaku said, gesturing to the shooter, who was now bleeding out on the floor. "I mean, he saved your life, Lelouch."

"I know, Suzaku," Lelouch said, sounding weary and running a hand through his black hair. "But his efforts would've been for nothing if we were to die now."

Suzaku hesitated for barely a second before walking over and checking his pulse. As he reached down for his wrist, he tried not to look at the open violet eyes that were staring distantly, despite the fact the shooter was unconscious.

There! Suzaku felt it. A steady thumping against his index finger. He turned to Lelouch.

"He's still alive."

Lelouch said nothing in return. Suzaku bit his lip before rummaging through the pockets of his uniform until he found a sheet of laminated card. He pulled it out and held it up to the light, checking that it was the right one.

"Suzaku, what are you—" Lelouch began, but stopped abruptly.

Suzaku placed the card in the dying teenager's hand, then stood up.

"It's my ID as an Honorary Britannian," he explained. "It'll get him free, military grade treatment. It's the least I can do."

Lelouch nodded once. Allowing himself one last cursory glance at the dying teenager, Lelouch began to move away from the scene.

"So, Suzaku, how much do you know of the layout of the Ghettos?"

* * *

"We steam rolled our way in here," Lloyd said with a sigh, "but, as it stands, we don't have a devicer…"

Suzaku Kururugi's simulation results had been a godsend to the Special Corps. Lloyd's spending tendencies caused them to scrape the barrel when it came to funding and that they'd spent every last bit of their budget on building a machine too complex for any Natural to use was unappealing to say the least. Normally, in a situation like this, a leader of a research group was supposed to try and endear themselves to a rich member of the Britannian Government to persuade them to hand over more funding, but, unfortunately, Lloyd didn't care. So, as it was, short of getting Cécile to sleep with an official in the government, the Special Corps really didn't have many options available.

Kururugi was the only person who could really achieve the results they wanted with the KMF. Unfortunately, Kururugi was a Number and thus the equivalent of cannon fodder in the eyes of his superiors. Highly skilled cannon fodder, but cannon fodder nonetheless.

So, Kururugi had been posted to the front lines of this operation, despite their request for a transfer having gone in days before. They'd brought the Lancelot out, hoping to commandeer him from his superior officer and get some much needed data, but gunshots had been heard from where he was posted and his radio had long since stopped sending a signal. Knowing Britannia's regard for the value of Numbers in the military, it was likely that both Suzaku and their hopes for a suitable devicer were dead.

Lloyd was painstakingly aware of this and it had left him feeling somewhat depressed. Cécile, having a somewhat hypersensitive ability to tell the earl's moods – it was necessary for survival as his direct subordinate/personal assistant/Girl Friday – placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure it'll be alright Lloyd," she said, using her 'comforting' tone.

Lloyd forcefully brightened his expression.

"Well," he said with a cheer they both knew he didn't feel. "We always have Jerry; he did come second in our screenings … but what's 65% when you can have 90?"

"It's Jeremiah, Lloyd. He's not a cartoon mouse…" Cécile automatically began to lecture – someone had to curb Lloyd's lack of etiquette – but drifted when she caught sight of a team of medics coming out of the Ghetto, swarming a stretcher.

"Lloyd…" she said, drawing the scientist's attention to the group.

From the crowd, a runner emerged, clipboard in hand. He jogged up to the pair of them.

"Earl Asplund, sir? You requested a Suzaku Kururugi..?"

* * *

Kira Yamato likened the feeling of being shot to watching High School Musical reruns: nothing new, but painful nonetheless. Those were his first thoughts when he opened his eyes and found himself gazing into the face of a lilac haired, bespectacled young man.

His first instinct was to close his eyes again and go back to sleep, but the man in question spoke up, preventing Kira from completing this goal.

"My, oh my," the young man stated, "I don't know whether to hold you, or the bastard who shot you responsible for this."

Kira tried to sit up, but was gently pushed down by the young man. He winced as a hand came into contact with his left shoulder. The lilac-haired man then proceeded to peer closer at Kira, his face moving to just inches away from Kira's.

"Um," Kira started, shrinking away from the too-close-for-comfort face above him. "I don't mean to be rude, but who the hell are you?"

The young man blinked twice before removing his face from Kira's personal bubble.

"Oh right," he said. "I'm Earl Lloyd Asplund of the Britannian Military, Special Corps unit."

Kira blinked, his groggy mind taking a while to process this. Then, it began to sink in. Earl… Britannian Military… Shit. He had to wonder, what the hell had he done to deserve this?

Suddenly, Lloyd's head was flung forward as if someone had just clipped him round the back of his head.

"Lloyd!" came a female's voice. "The boy's just been shot! You shouldn't surprise him like that!"

Kira's eyes caught sight of a woman with blue eyes and hair. She was dressed in the uniform of a military officer.

Lloyd whole heartedly ignored the lecture that the woman was giving him.

"And this here," he said, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and gesturing behind him with the other. "Is my subordinate, the ever lovely Miss Cécile Croomy."

The woman clouted him around the head once again.

"What was that for?" Lloyd complained.

"Your sarcasm was neither funny nor appreciated, Lloyd," Cécile declared.

Lloyd looked affronted.

"It was a compliment!" he protested.

Kira wanted to laugh at the duo. Never in his time in the military had he seen such obvious insubordination go unpunished. If Lloyd was, as he said, Cécile's superior, why didn't he do something about the abuse? Did he like it? No harm in asking…

"Um, Earl Asplund, sir, are you a masochist?"

Cécile, who had been hitting Lloyd, stopped and, much to both Kira and Lloyd's surprise, laughed. Lloyd muttered something which sounded like 'I am never going to live this down', shot Kira a dirty look and sought to change the subject.

"Well, let's wrap up the introductions," he said sharply. "You're Private Suzaku Kururugi and it's a pleasure to meet you."

Remembering something about introductions from Cécile's etiquette 'lessons', Lloyd stuck his hand out for the boy to shake. The boy, however, merely stared at the hand like it was a snake.

Suzaku Kururugi? Kira's mind began to race. That wasn't Kira's name… Kira begun to hurriedly piece together his situation. Suzaku… wasn't that what one of the boy's from the tunnel was called? Wait! That Suzaku kid had been a soldier… Kira gazed to the side of his bed and saw a military ID there. Did the kid give it to him? Why would he do that?

Gingerly, and hiding his confusion well, Kira put out his hand and shook Lloyd's.

"Nice to meet you, Earl Asplund," he said, making an effort to keep his voice level.

Lloyd grinned before picking up the ID on the bedside table casually.

"I have to say, Private Kururugi, you don't look much like your photo," Lloyd said, showing the card to Kira.

_That's because it's not me, _Kira thought, but instead opted to shrug.

"I, um, had a haircut," he improvised.

Lloyd, misreading his tone for one of minor embarrassment, hurriedly shook his head, fearing Cécile's negative reinforcement.

"Ah! No insult meant, of course," he said. "You should see my ID photo…" Lloyd pulled another card out of his pocket and showed it to Kira. It showed the earl making a face at the camera, whilst being hit over the head, it seemed.

"Lloyd!" Cécile chastised. "It is _not _a competition!"

Kira could've sworn he heard Lloyd mutter, "Says who?" but put it down to hearing things wrongly.

Lloyd then sighed, putting down the ID and picking up Kira's chart. He tapped it pensively with his index finger.

"You, Suzaku Kururugi, are one lucky man."

If Lloyd had known Kira better, Kira would have been sure he was being sarcastic. He'd been dragged into a war he didn't want, ended up fighting his best friend, almost died multiple times and now had just been shot. He was _lucky_ he was still alive.

Lloyd took the kid's silence as intent listening.

"If the bullet had hit you in any other place than that spot in your shoulder," he explained, "you'd be dead by now from blood loss."

Kira shrugged. _That _was what the earl meant… He had to agree. He _did _have an uncanny ability to survive even the most fatal of situations.

"So Private Kururugi," Lloyd began, "what would you do if you had the chance to pilot a Knightmare Frame?"

Seeing the look on the boy's face, Lloyd thought it best to add, "Hypothetically, of course."

* * *

_Meanwhile, in Shinjuku…_

"Lelouch are you sure this will work?" Suzaku asked.

They were sat, Suzaku on the roof of the cockpit of the Knightmare Frame they stole, Lelouch inside, hacking into the OS.

"My brother Clovis has just started a massacre," Lelouch said grimly. "What choice do I have but to try and stop it?"

"But to kill your own brother…" Suzaku said, shaking his head. "Look, let me do it, Lelouch. I've already got blood on my hands—"

"Suzaku," Lelouch cut him off. "I can't let you do this. You face being charged for treason just by knowing what I'm going to do and using my Geass I can get in there cleanly without spilling too much blood."

Suzaku was quiet. Lelouch was right, he knew it, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Suzaku," Lelouch said quietly, "if getting blood on my hands is the cost for saving all those innocent lives in the ghetto, I'll take the deal any day."

They were silent for a while before Suzaku nodded. Lelouch couldn't see it, so he spoke up.

"OK," he said. He was beginning to see now, that the seven years after the invasion hadn't been easy for Lelouch either. He sighed, then threw the terrorist radio that they'd gained down to Lelouch.

"Do it," he said.

Lelouch turned on the radio.

"If you want to win, you'll follow my orders."

There was a moment's silence before a voice, a female voice, buzzed back over the radio.

"Win?" A pause of indecision. "What will you have me do?"

Lelouch glanced up at Suzaku, poking his head out of the cockpit, as if to say 'last chance to back out now'. Suzaku merely nodded.

"Firstly," Lelouch said. "Jump onto that train over there…"

Suzaku watched Lelouch as he orchestrated his plan. He trusted his friend to save his people. He hoped his trust wasn't misplaced.

* * *

_Dammit, _Kira thought, _that Lloyd guy is more stubborn than Cagalli…_ So here he was, zipping up his jumpsuit, completely and utterly un-thrilled by the prospect of falling into a mobile suit cockpit... Again.

RING!

Kira startled suddenly, turning his head in the direction of the noise. His eyes settled on the pile of clothes he'd been wearing earlier that day. Cécile and Lloyd had given them back to him, not commenting on the fact that they weren't military uniform.

RING!

It sounded like his mobile… _His mobile! Lacus!_

Kira practically dived to pick up the phone, digging through his trouser pockets with a brutal urgency. He flipped it open and pressed it to his ear.

"Lacus?" he asked anxiously. _Oh dear lord… What if she was caught in the crossfire?_

"Kira? Thank God you're alive!" Lacus's voice was hurried, panicked even.

Kira felt himself relax upon hearing Lacus's voice. She was alive. She was alive. She wasn't dead.

"Lacus, what's going on?" he asked, calming down.

Lacus, however, didn't answer the question. Over the line, he could hear her trying to calm herself down.

"Kira," she said, her voice trembling. "I thought you were dead… I heard the gunshot and then…"Lacus trailed off, taking deep breaths. When Kira next heard her speak, Kira knew he wasn't talking to Lacus Clyne, kind-hearted do-gooder, but to Lacus Clyne, Captain of the Eternal. "They've started an ethnic cleansing, Kira," she said. "Of Shinjuku," she clarified. "They're purging the ghetto."

_That_ was not what Kira wanted to hear. His fists clenched.

"Are you alright, Lacus?" he asked, sounding tense.

"I'm fine Kira," Lacus replied calmly. "There's a resistance group based in the area; they're protecting the civilians and me…" Lacus paused thoughtfully. "Though," she added, "they must have one hell of a commander. He'd give Mr Waltfield a run for his money I reckon…"

Kira raised his eyebrows at this piece of news. Andrew Waltfield was one impressive commander; any man who could give him a run for his money was terrifying indeed.

"Kira, are you OK?" Lacus inquired. "Where are you?"

Kira sighed, remembering what he was supposed to be doing.

"If I told you I was being forced to pilot an experimental Britannian KMF – without an ejection seat may I add – by an irksome earl who won't take 'no' for an answer, would you believe me?"

There was silence for a bit, but thankfully Lacus didn't ask any questions.

"It's complicated, I take it?" she asked.

"Yeah," Kira said with a nod.

The comms unit on Kira's ear burst into life.

"Private Kururugi," came Lloyd's voice over the comms unit. "You've just been given the all-clear. Knock 'em dead, Suzaku."

The comms unit faded out.

There was silence as Kira realised that Lacus had probably heard that over the phone.

"I'm not going to ask, Kira," she declared.

Kira sighed, keeping the phone pressed to his ear as he climbed up and into the cockpit.

"Thanks," he said. As he began to start up the mobile suit, or rather, Knightmare Frame, something crossed his mind. "Lacus?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember anything about a 7th Generation mobile – I mean – Knightmare Frame?" Kira asked, watching as fancy script flashed across the screen as part of the start-up.

"Now that you mention it," Lacus replied, "it _does_ sound familiar…"

Kira held the phone to his ear with one hand as he checked the OS of the frame. For once, it wasn't ridiculously simplistic. If anything, it was probably a bit too complex for your average pilot. Luckily, Kira wasn't your average pilot.

"Wait a second!"

Kira almost dropped the phone from surprise at the loud shout.

"Yes, Lacus?" he asked tiredly.

"It was in Orb!" she declared. "I remember one of the engineers mentioning it in passing, I think. There was something about a joint Orb and Britannia project from before the war. You'd have to ask around for details, but I'm pretty sure that's it…"

Kira frowned. That didn't make sense…

"Thanks Lacus," he said.

"You're welcome, Kira." Lacus spoke as if he didn't need to thank her. "What are you going to do, though? You're not going to _assist_ with the massacre, are you?"

Kira took a deep breath.

"Lacus," he said, "I'll do whatever I can to stop this massacre. I swear on it."

There was silence on both ends of the phone before Lacus broke it.

"Kira," she said quietly by way of a goodbye. "Be careful."

"I will." And with that, he disconnected.

The comms unit flared into life again.

"What are you doing in there, Kururugi? Updating your facebook status? Get out there and get me some data! Now!" Lloyd's voice came blaring through Kira's comms unit. With a sigh, he turned it off and placed it on top of his clothes. He was going to be leaving these behind. It was a shame. He kind of liked them. He pulled the last of the things he needed to save from his pockets – namely his mobile's hands-free device – and clambered back into the powered up KMF.

Kira gripped the controls of his mobile suit, closing up the cockpit.

_I thought I was through with this… I thought the world had moved on… I suppose I was wrong._

Kira hardened his resolve.

Almost to himself, more out of habit than anything else, he declared:

"Kira Yamato, Lancelot, heading out!"

* * *

"Oh my!" Lloyd cried, clapping his hands in glee as he peered over his monitors. "This data is absolutely wonderful!"

The Special Corps were doing what they did best, ignoring the more eccentric moments of their leader and concentrating fully on the data they were gathering. Cécile sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Lloyd, he hasn't even engaged the enemy yet…" she pointed out. He was like an over-excited puppy at times like this.

"I know!" Lloyd practically squealed. "And that's what's so _wonderful_! So far he's dodged all of the attacks on his frame without even taking the offensive! I haven't seen such raw talent since, well, since myself!"

Cécile sighed again, turning back to the data. Even she couldn't deny it, though, this data was even better than they expected.

"Sir?" The face of a young soldier came up on the large screen in front of Lloyd.

Lloyd scowled up at him from his work.

"What is it?" he snapped at the soldier.

"Well, sir," the soldier stammered nervously. "We have a soldier here claiming to be Suzaku Kururugi…"

"Nonsense!" Lloyd snapped again. "Suzaku Kururugi is piloting the Lancelot right now—"

Lloyd began to protest when he was interrupted by Cécile's voice.

"Lloyd, what's going on? Suzaku just fired at Britannian units … none of them are injured …oh my!"

"What the hell?!" Lloyd exclaimed, torn between checking Cécile was telling the truth and staying to listen to the soldier. Suddenly the face on the screen changed.

Staring back at Lloyd was a Japanese boy, an exact replica to the face on Suzaku's ID…

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know you were looking for me and, well, I had my ID stolen…"

Cécile practically screamed at Lloyd, "Lloyd! He's still firing on Britannians!"

Lloyd looked between the face on the screen and Cécile. He summed his feelings up in one word.

"Drat."

* * *

_OK, you got me. I like Lloyd. No seriously, I really do. He is honest to god, my favourite character. I think his voice actor's great, I think his character's great and I love his attitude to all things._

_So, don't be surprised if Lloyd is featured heavily in this fic. We had so much fun plotting for this chapter to happen. Kira stealing the Lancelot? Bet none of you saw that one happening…_

**-FriedIce**

* * *

_Wooooooooooooooo. Rewrite chapter two. YAY__**. Warning if nothing makes sense that's because you've failed to read chapter one of the rewrite.  
**__Anyway. We'll be updating fairly quickly as we clear what we have backlogged (around five or six chapters) so expect new updates soon_

_With love, _

_FriedIce_


	3. Shinjuku

**Chapter Three – Shinjuku**

"Any contact with the pilot?" Lloyd asked, his tone panicked as he hurriedly attempted to remotely regain control of his Lancelot.

The Special Corps was in panic. Their project, which their leader had spent the entirety of their budget on, had just been stolen. Not to mention the fact that the machine hadn't had an IMF installed and activated yet, which made it devilishly hard to locate.

"None," Cécile replied as she too worked at her computer. "He appears to have turned his comms unit off."

Something in the corner of Lloyd's vision caught his eye. On one of the now abandoned data posts, information was still coming in.

"Cécile!" Lloyd cried when he saw the figures. "Leave that! Look at this!"

Cécile sighed as she pulled her chair over to view the monitor. It was probably just a detail about the Lancelot's power output, or something… Cécile's eyes widened in pure shock.

"What? Do you mean to say…" she drifted off.

"With Suzaku we expected a 90-94% synchronisation rate at best, but this…" It was one of the few situations where Lloyd was at a loss for words.

"98.7%?!"

"This is unnatural…" Lloyd muttered.

* * *

Kira dodged yet another attempted attack on his KMF with ease. This was nothing compared to the cross-fire he was caught in previously. He spotted another Britannian unit and quickly disarmed it, making sure to avoid the fatal area of the cockpit.

Satisfied that this battle would not stretch his ability too badly, Kira punched a number into his phone and hit call.

"Good afternoon," a pleasant voice spoke over the line. "This is the Engineering Corps of the Orb Armed Forces, Sophie Daniels speaking, how may I help you?"

"Hey Sophie," Kira said, as he swatted a slash harken away. "Can you put me through to Erica?"

"Oh, it's you Kira," Sophie replied. "Sure thing, I'll just transfer the call."

Kira heard a beep as the call went through to Erica's desk.

"You're speaking to Erica Simmons, Senior Engineer, may I ask whose speaking?" Kira could've sworn there was a hint of irritation in Erica's voice, but Kira ignored it. He needed this information.

"Hey Erica," Kira said, dodging falling into a trap which included causing the ground to fall through.

"Oh hello Kira," Erica replied, sounding tired. If Kira had to guess, she'd just put in another all-nighter at the office. The entirety of Orb's forces were racking up hours of overtime, what with the fact that they had to rebuild their country from scratch. "What's up?"

"Well," Kira began, wondering how to go about this. "You know you owe me a favour…"

"Since when do I owe you a favour, Kira?" Erica asked cautiously.

"Oh you know, since I kept quiet about the Clothes Line Incident…" Kira drifted off for dramatic effect, remembering what had happened in great detail.

It had been at the Orb Armed Forces 'victory' party, where the majority of people present had gotten smashed out of their skulls. Kira, being not all that into alcohol, had declined the gracious offers of several people to buy him drinks, despite him being underage, and thus had ended up one of the few people sober that evening. Whilst it had been a drag babysitting all of the drunk adults, the blackmail material he had gotten out of it had been more than worth it.

Erica growled, most likely flashing back to the incident herself.

"What do you want?" she asked eventually.

"Information," Kira replied, sounding distracted. It was all he could do to stop himself from getting killed by the resistance's Knightmares as they mistook him for a Britannian. He could see what Lacus meant; the resistance did have one hell of a commander.

"I should have known." Kira heard Erica pull up a chair and start to log in to the Orb database. "So what do you want information on Kira? You could probably hack further than my clearance will get me…"

"Data can only tell me so much," Kira replied. "What do you know about a 7th Gen KMF?"

Kira heard Erica mutter something unrepeatable.

"That depends," Erica eventually said. "Is this line secure?"

"I've encrypted it to high hell, if that's what you're asking," Kira said.

Erica sighed on the other end of the line.

"Well, it was a joint project from before the war," she surrendered. "Orb and Britannia were working together to develop a Seventh Generation KMF … You do know the difference between a Knightmare and a Mobile Suit, right Kira?"

Kira rolled his eyes.

"A Mobile Suit has either a battery powered core or a nuclear one. KMFs run on Sakuradite, which malfunctions in space, so KMFs were few and far between in the Bloody Valentine War," Kira recited from a lecture Cagalli had given him a while back.

"Good," Erica continued. "When war broke out, we discontinued the project and withheld our data from Britannia, as Orb does not believe in aiding nations in war. Without our data and funding, the project pretty much went dead."

There was a momentary pause. Kira suspected Erica was debating how to say the next bit.

"Then," she eventually said. "During the fall of Orb, all at once, all of our files on the frame were attacked by a hacker at the same time. We were too preoccupied with the evacuation to do much about it … but the bastards stole every last bit of information we had."

"Do you know who stole your info?" Kira asked, dodging some gunfire.

"Oh," Erica's voice sounded bitter. "It was bloody obvious who did it. The bastard even left a thank you note, signed by an Earl Asplund." Erica practically spat the last name out.

Erica paused a second, a thought passing through her mind.

"Why did you want to know, Kira?" she asked.

Kira smiled, more to himself than Erica.

"What would you do, Erica, if I told you I was sat in the cockpit of a 7th Gen KMF right now?"

Erica didn't even hesitate.

"Isn't it obvious, Kira?" she asked. "I'd tell you to steal our data back." Erica paused before adding, "And ransack their systems whilst you're at it."

* * *

"Lloyd!" Cécile's panicked voice pulled Lloyd from the data screen. "We've got a hacker attacking our systems!"

Lloyd peered over Cécile's shoulder at the report. He had calmed down somewhat since the realisation that his Lancelot had been stolen, even if he was still doing his best to find it. The data they were gathering, Cécile supposed, had placated him somewhat.

"Oh my," Lloyd commented as if amused. "He really _is _making short work of our firewalls."

"Lloyd," Cécile said worriedly as she tried – and failed – to fend off the hacker. "Aren't you going to do something?!"

"Well," Lloyd said with a sigh, "He's trying so hard… My, oh my, he just broke through five firewalls at once… Now I kind of think he deserves that data…"

"Lloyd! He's headed for the files on the Lancelot!"

Lloyd's mood instantly changed from reasonably impressed to pissed off.

"What?!" Lloyd pushed Cécile from in front of the monitor. "Give me a keyboard and bring me up a terminal! And Cécile, save your lecture for later!"

* * *

"Well," Kira said, rather disappointed as he crunched through the firewalls with ease. "Their systems really need a bit of work … even Athrun could break through these with little trouble…"

Suddenly, he found himself being pushed back.

"Oh, really? Someone's fighting back?" he murmured to himself. It was about time. Kira raised his eyebrows before upping his game.

"Didn't I tell you," he said with a grin before quoting, "'I'm not left handed!'"

* * *

"OK, blocked that attack," Lloyd mumbled to himself. "Wait! He's over here too! How the hell is he doing this! It's like he's got four hands! Though it would be cool to have four hands… I could work on the Lancelot twice as fast…"

"Lloyd! Stop daydreaming or – Lloyd! He's through!"

"Drat," Lloyd said for the second time that day. He only prayed the hacker would be merciful.

* * *

Lelouch had his brother exactly where he wanted him, sat in his throne, with the entire military at his beck and call. They were alone now and Suzaku was hopefully safely back with the military – it was a gamble, he knew, to send Suzaku back to the people who had tried to shoot him, but Lelouch was certain it was the safest place for his friend.

He didn't want to admit it at the time, but there was another reason that he didn't want Suzaku here. He had some … family issues to resolve.

Lelouch raised his gun, keeping his face in the shadows.

"Order off the massacre, Clovis," he said simply.

Clovis was a relatively young man, in his early twenties, and this experience showed through with whatever he did. His blond hair was curled around his face, giving him a slightly feminine look, one which the media seemed to love. The charismatic prince and strong leader, that was how he was shown, and Lelouch had looked up more than once to see his brother's face plastered over a screen, contorting into various extreme expressions during an address.

Said face's expression quickly darkened into a look of shock and fear.

"Who are you?" Clovis demanded.

"I don't think you're in the position to ask questions," Lelouch stated without emotion, then added, "Clovis." He paused, allowing the situation to sink into Clovis's brain. "Order off the massacre," he repeated.

Clovis's eyes darted between the gun and his command centre. He was indecisive for barely a minute before he pushed a button on the unit and barked out a declaration.

"Thank you," Lelouch said emotionlessly, when Clovis had finished.

Clovis then turned back to him, away from the command centre. His eyes narrowed.

"Who are you?" Clovis asked once again.

Lelouch smirked within the shadows.

"Me?" he feigned confusion. "Don't you remember, Clovis? We used to play chess together all the time in Aries Villa…"

Lelouch suddenly saw a violent change in the expression on Clovis's face. Gone was the shock, gone was the fear. In their place was something darker. Clovis's lips pulled up into an ugly, angry grimace.

"Stop this nonsense!" Clovis snarled. The anger seemed rather out of place on his perfectly made-up face. Clovis paused, taking a deep breath, before stating in a dangerously level tone, "I demand to know who you are at once."

"You always were a sore loser, weren't you, Clovis?" Lelouch said, stepping from the shadows into the light. "Every time I would win and you were always like this…"

Clovis's eyes widened.

"Lelouch!?"

* * *

"This is Clovis la Britannia speaking. I order you, as Governor of Area Eleven, cease this massacre at once! Treat all injured with medical care, whether they be Britannian or Eleven!"

Inside the cockpit of the Lancelot, Kira raised his eyebrows. So the massacre had been called off? Time to abandon ship, then. KMFs may be valuable assets in a battle, but they were damned hard to hide after you had stolen one.

Finding a relatively secluded alcove in the Ghetto, Kira disembarked. Before he left the KMF, however, he withdrew the USB stick he'd been using to store the stolen data from the mainframe and deleted the entirety of the battle-logs.

He allowed himself one last look at the KMF before he left. It had been a real pleasure to pilot, even if he preferred the Freedom. Suddenly, an idea hit Kira.

He pulled a marker out from the cockpit of the Lancelot and wrote a brief note on the front of the machine.

_To Earl Asplund,_ the note read, _with love from your friends in Orb._

* * *

"Goodbye, brother," Lelouch said, deactivating his Geass.

It seemed as if Clovis really did know nothing. Internally, Lelouch was gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"Lelouch—"

Lelouch didn't want to listen to Clovis's protests. He didn't want to hear his brother try to welcome him home. He hated the falsity that Clovis seemed to thrive in. He tried not to think about what he was doing as he cut his brother off with a bullet to the head.

"That," Lelouch said as he turned to leave, "was from C.C."

Lelouch left the chamber, disposing of his gun as he went. He turned back one last time before saying the thing C.C. had made him promise to say.

"She sends her love."

* * *

Kira Yamato looked at himself in a mirror. Staring back at him was a seventeen year old boy with brown hair and purple eyes, a kind smile on his face. He was presentable … but still Kira Yamato.

It was the agreement with Lacus that prevented him from leaving for school dressed like that. Lacus had stated, rather fairly, that if she had to hide her identity with a disguise, it was only fair that Kira did the same. Sighing, Kira reached for the pair of non-wire rim glasses Lacus had told him to wear.

Looking at his appearance again, he confirmed what he had predicted. _Great, now, I'm not only interested in computer programming, but I look like a geek too._

Cagalli was going to get a kick out of this.

* * *

Lelouch ignored Rivalz as he continued to complain about Lelouch's 'abandoning' him yesterday.

Rivalz Cardemonde was normally regarded by students at Ashford Academy as the comic relief for the Student Council. It was assumed that they kept him around simply because he was like a puppy: cute and loyal. Most students thought of Rivalz as immature and ignored him in his more stupid moments, but Lelouch, having been friends with Rivalz since he had first enrolled at the Academy, knew that Rivalz had a serious side too, he just didn't ever show it.

Sensing that Lelouch was not paying attention in the slightest, Rivalz waved his hand in front of his friend's face.

"Earth to Lelouch, earth to Lelouch, do you copy?" he chanted.

Lelouch swatted Rivalz' hand away, but said nothing.

"Oh come on, Lelouch," Rivalz insisted, "you have to admit that it was a bit off, running off like that…"

Lelouch rolled his eyes, before turning his head towards Rivalz.

"Rivalz, I fell into a truck," Lelouch said exasperatedly.

Rivalz would have probably continued to protest and complain, if not for the entry of the teacher.

"Alright everyone," the teacher said, "return to your seats for the register."

Shooting Lelouch a look, Rivalz crossed the classroom and seated himself in his place next to the wall. Rivalz glared at Lelouch all the way through registration, as if to say 'this isn't finished yet'. Lelouch didn't even respond.

He had already resolved to sleep through his lessons that morning when the classroom door opened suddenly. Lelouch looked up, expecting to see a lost younger student or a messenger from the headmaster, but was instead greeted by the appearance of a teenage girl.

"Ah, good," the teacher said, "I was wondering when you'd get here. Did you get lost?"

The girl nodded.

"Alright, class," the teacher announced. "We have two new transfer students joining us today."

* * *

_Edited 'cause I'm a ninja. _

_FriedIce_

_PS. Review_


	4. Bad Habits

**Chapter Four – Bad Habits**

"Alright class, we have two new transfer students joining us today."

Lelouch's eyebrows rose minutely. Transfers? It wouldn't normally be odd, but transfers tended to join them at the beginning of each term. Britannians weren't averse to leaving their children behind in a country to go to school, so it was unlikely that the transfers were moving to their school because their parents had been uprooted and dumped in Area 11…

A girl walked into the classroom, followed by a boy. She stood at a shorter-than average 5'2'', with hair that cascaded its way down her back, stopping just above her hips. Her eyes were obscured by a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses, which perched on the bridge of her nose. The strange thing, however, was her hair colour. It was an off-shade of maroon, as if someone had brown hair, and then had tried to die it pink over the top without first bleaching it. The scrutiny she was undergoing from her classmates didn't seem to bother her in the slightest as she smiled warmly at all of them

The boy, however, looked less at ease. He was average height – around 5'6'' – and average weight. He was tugging on the hem of his blazer, as if paranoid it wasn't long enough, and his eyes were twitching between all of his future classmates. For a second, his eyes seemed to settle on Lelouch, then widen slightly, but it was hard to tell with his non-wire rim glasses obscuring his eyes.

"OK, class," the teacher announced. "This is Lacus Smith and Kira Evans. They are going to be attending Ashford Academy starting today." The teacher smiled disarmingly at the pair. "If you could introduce yourselves, and tell us some things about you?"

Lacus – for her presumed that was the name of the girl – stepped forward, her posture perfectly maintained. She'd obviously had lessons from a young age.

"My name is Lacus Smith," she said. "I'm seventeen years old and am transferring here from my old school in Orb, where I grew up."

The boy stepped forward next, flinching slightly.

"My name is Kira Evans," he said. "I'm also seventeen and attended the same school as Lacus in Orb."

The teacher nodded at them and directed them to the free seats at the back of the classroom. Lelouch followed them through their journey to the desks, feeling uneasy in their presence. Those voices… Lelouch had the uncomfortable sense that he really should recognise them from somewhere.

After five minutes of staring, it became apparent to Lelouch that he wasn't going to be remembering any time soon and so he turned his head away from the duo. It was then that he realised he hadn't been the only one staring. Half the class was tuned out of the lecture on literature, their heads swivelled around and glued on the pair.

Looked like the students of Ashford had just found their new toy.

* * *

"Your hair's so pretty; is it natural?"

"You grew up in Orb? That's so cool!"

"Your English has a slight tinge to its accent… Is that from Orb?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Lacus found herself being bombarded with questions the moment class was over. Kira had left almost immediately on the bell, claiming that he had to 'take a call', but Lacus suspected he had seen this coming and was making an early escape.

Lacus sighed. He really didn't like being the centre of attention. You'd think what with being the hero of the Bloody Valentine War, he'd be used to it by now…

"In order of asking," Lacus replied calmly. "Yes, my hair is natural; yes I grew up in Orb; there are so many different languages spoken in Orb I wouldn't know; and yes, I have a boyfriend."

It was just like her first press-conference. Everyone wanted a piece of Lacus Clyne… Or Lacus Smith as it may be.

"Leave off for a while," a voice came from above. "Can't you see she's suffocating?"

Lacus looked up to see a raven-haired boy scowling slightly at the crowd – or, what had been the crowd, seeing as how they'd practically evaporated when the boy had spoken up.

The teenager smiled sheepishly at Lacus.

"I'm sorry," he said. "They can be a little intense. You're the most exciting thing to happen since the Cross-Dressers' Ball."

_Cross-Dressers' Ball? Dear Lord, I've joined a madhouse…_

"Thank you," Lacus replied cordially. "Are they always that … excitable?"

The raven-haired youth laughed.

"Unfortunately, yes," he replied. "I'm Lelouch, by the way. Lelouch Lamperouge."

"Pleasure," Lacus replied, sticking her hand out by way of a greeting.

* * *

When his phone rang as the bell for lunch went off, Kira could not have been more happy for an excuse to flee the classroom. Bullying Kira could have dealt with. Name calling he would have ignored. But those stares, those nasty, invasive stares? They were part of the reason he rarely introduced himself with his real name anymore. People staring just plain bugged Kira.

And stared they had. All through the lessons that morning. Sure, he felt guilty for leaving Lacus to deal with the Spanish Inquisition alone, but nothing was worth enduring that for.

Kira climbed an abandoned staircase, flipping his phone open to read the caller ID as he went. A sigh of relief. It was Athrun.

"Hello?" Kira answered his phone as soon as he was sure that no one could overhear him speaking.

"Hey Kira," Athrun replied. He sounded tired, very tired. "I tried to call you yesterday, but you didn't pick up. What did you and Lacus get up to?"

_Besides fighting for our lives? Not much…_

Kira climbed up a few more steps, aiming for wherever this staircase lead to – he thought it was the roof.

"Well," he said, picking his words carefully. "Lacus wanted to go do some relief work in the Ghetto…" Kira drifted off, not sure how to tell Athrun what had happened yesterday.

"Sounds like Lacus alright," Athrun commented. "You were careful, right? Cagalli would kill me if you got yourself killed."

"How would it be your fault?" Kira asked. "I mean, it's not like you are going to be pulling the trigger."

"I would be the only one left alive for her to take her frustrations out on," Athrun explained. "She wouldn't use Lacus – I swear those two are thick as thieves when they get together…" There was a pause. "You never did answer my question, though. You were careful, right? No injuries?"

Kira hesitated for a bit too long before replying, "No…"

Kira could hear Athrun groan across the line.

"You're kidding me, right? You've barely been in Area 11 a week and already you're racking up loyalty points at the hospital…"

"It wasn't really avoidable given the situation," Kira stated.

"Oh, so what _did _you get up to?" Athrun asked, sounding amused.

Kira smirked slightly.

"Nothing special," he said, trying to sound relaxed. "You know, got involved in an ethnic cleansing, stole a prototype mobile suit and hacked into the Britannian databases: the usual."

"Oh, right," Athrun replied, his tone mirroring Kira's own blasé one. "Not much, then?"

"Yeah," Kira said. "You?"

"Oh, even less," Athrun sounded kind of fed up. "Cagalli's blackmailed me into doing her paperwork for her…"

"Aren't you just a bodyguard, Athrun?" Kira asked. "The paperwork's her job…"

"Yes, I know that. Refer to the word 'blackmailed'." Kira heard Athrun sigh. "The slave driver has found me and is motioning for me to get back to work now. Talk to you later. Tell Lacus I said 'hi'?"

"Oh right, sure," Kira said, nodding. "It was nice talking to you. I presume everything's going well in Orb, so send Cagalli mine and Lacus's love."

He wished he could stay longer and talk to his old friend, but he knew better than to go against Cagalli. Judging by Athrun's tone, he knew better as well.

"Will do," Athrun said shortly.

"OK, bye then." Kira hung up.

"So," a voice said from above. Kira looked up, his phone still in hand. "Before you decide to talk about things that you don't want people overhearing," Kira saw who the voice belonged to. His eyes widened in disbelief. "You should check, Kira Yamato, that you're alone."

* * *

Cagalli Yula Athha was glad that she had plenty of blackmail material on Athrun. She had a mountain of paperwork, no advisors – they were taking a long time to get back after the war – and had to rebuild an entire nation, practically from scratch. In fact, she didn't know what she would do if Athrun hadn't been readily available to help her with it as his experience in politics, picked up from his father, was invaluable.

Still, they were in this together and that meant no sneaking off to make phone calls when she wasn't looking.

"Who were you talking to?" Cagalli asked bluntly, shoving some budget reports under his nose.

Athrun shrugged, picking up the reports and reading them before picking up a pen and circling some numbers.

"No one," he said, "just Kira."

Cagalli's face brightened. She hadn't heard from Kira since he had departed from Orb nearly a month ago. Whilst she knew he still conversed with Athrun almost daily, she simply didn't have time. Cagalli decided to take some time out of her day to hear how Kira was, if only today, and reached across the table, placing a hand over Athrun's paperwork.

"How's Kira?" she asked.

"Good," Athrun said, leaning back in his seat, "I guess. He and Lacus seem to like Japan."

"That's good," Cagalli said. "So what did he and Lacus get up to?"

"Well, Lacus did some relief work in a poor part of the country and Kira…" Athrun shrugged.

"What did Kira do?" Cagalli said, her face darkening. She knew how to spot evasive manoeuvres when she saw them and wasn't going to take any of this from Athrun. Plus, he was her brother! If he was gallivanting around unstable Britannian Areas, she had a right to know what he was doing.

"Nothing much," Athrun said. He paused, then continued, "He got involved with an ethnic cleansing—"

"HE WHAT?!" Cagalli exploded, standing up from her chair and slamming her hands forcefully onto the desk. The piles of paperwork shook under the force. Athrun flinched. Cagalli took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "_Please _ tell me he wasn't supporting it!"

"Oh come on," Athrun said calmly. "This is Kira we're talking about. Since when has he ever been in favour of fighting unless it's for peace?"

Cagalli took several moments to calm down, gently reassuring herself. Then she spotted the look on Athrun's face. He wasn't telling her the whole story.

She leant forward over the table, her eyes narrowing and her blond hair falling into her face.

"_What else_?" she asked her tone dangerously even.

Athrun sighed. There was no easy way to say this…

"He stole a prototype mobile suit—"

Athrun was cut off this time by being hit around the head with a file.

"Athrun!" Cagalli screamed. "You've corrupted my little brother!"

"_I've _corrupted him?" Athrun retorted incredulously, tearing the file off his face. "I was _given _the Justice! Kira and Lacus were the one who _stole_ the Freedom!"

Cagalli didn't even pause.

"And _who_ was it, Athrun Zala, who stole the original G-weapons?" she demanded.

Athrun sighed, shrinking away from the enraged Cagalli before saying, "Touché."

* * *

Lelouch was good company – very polite and had an innocent inquisitiveness about him that was flattering without being invasive. He was a nice change from her fans in the PLANTs – or her classmates, for that matter.

They were going to go and collect Kira, then eat lunch together, when Lacus stood up. Lacus had never been inherently clumsy, but as she pushed herself up and out from behind her desk, her left ankle caught around her right and she fell face first onto the floor, her glasses slipping off her face and clattering to the floor.

"Are you OK?" Lelouch asked, reaching for her glasses.

Lacus nodded, pushing herself up off the ground with her hands. She acted blind, like she was searching for her glasses, when Lelouch placed them in her hands, gazing into her eyes.

His eyes widened and his voice cracked as he spoke.

"Euphie?"

* * *

_Another chapter. Another thousand or so edits. Man, I need a hobby._

_-FriedIce_

_PS. Sorry for it being so late. This should have been up weeks ago, but things happened._


End file.
